This event brings together a wide range of small, independent
boutique brands that offer unique and original Christmas gift
ideas. So if you're looking for an original Christmas
present, come to the Rare Brand Market, and make sure you visit
us at the Gourmet Odyssey stand!

Last weekend we were at Château Beau Rivage, in the Bordeaux
region, to get involved in the harvest with some of the Gourmet
Odyssey Wine Experience clients. We had a great time,
mixing work in the vineyard, getting to know the winemakers and
sharing their knowledge, and of course tasting some great wines!

After a brief introduction to the winery, Christine (the owner
and winemaker) and her team, we headed off to the vineyard, each
carrying a basket and pair of secateurs. Christophe
explained the differences between the five grape varieties grown
in the vineyard, the work involved in bringing the grapes to
maturity, and what to look out for to know when the grapes have
reached the ideal moment for harvesting.

Before starting to harvest, we made our way to the part of the
vineyard where the Gourmet Odyssey vines are located, so that
each client could find their adopted vines. To help
identify the vines, Château Beau Rivage had engraved wooden
signs, specially for the clients of the Harvest Experience Day,
at the barrel-making firm that belongs to Christine's family.

Christine threw out a challenge to us to fill a trailer! In
pairs, each on opposite sides of a row, we began to harvest the
Merlot plot that was at the peak of its maturity. A few
songs and the regular cry of "Porter" added to the snip snip of
the secateurs and the rustle of leaves. Once the baskets
were filled, the harvester called for the porter, and empties the
picked grapes into the basket that the porter carries on his
back. Having collected the bunches from the different teams
of harvesters, the porter then empties his basket into the
trailer, which starts to fill little by little.

The work of the harvester and porter is very physical, especially
if done day after day for a couple of weeks. Luckily, our
mission was finished in a little over two hours, and a wine
tasting session and harvester's meal awaited us back at the
château!

The first wine we tasted was the Château Beau Rivage Clairet
2009, a fresh Bordeaux style rosé, served with local
charcuterie. Accompanying the duck and gizzards salad, we
tasted the Château Beau Rivage 2005 and 2003 vintages, and the
Clementine 2004. During this time, Christophe started the
barbecue by lighting the dried vine branches that would cook our
delicious steak bordelaise, served with a gratin dauphinois and a
carafed Clos la Bohème 2007, and the Phare 2002. Once the cheese
and home-made chocolate cake were also finished, it was time to
get back to work!

The tractor reversed the trailer full of harvested grapes to the
reception area. The grapes climb up a mechanized ladder
from the trailer to the de-stemming machine, where the grape
berries are separated from the stalks. We all gathered
round the sorting table to remove any bad grapes or stems that
managed to get through the machine. There were very few
rotten grapes this year, which helped us with the sorting!

Once the sorting was finished, we entered the winery to learn
more about the first stages of fermentation which turns the grape
sugar into alcohol. We watched a "remontage" happen, where
the must (grape juice) is drawn from the bottom of the vats and
pumped back into the top to mix with the grape skins that remain
at the top. This process is very important to ensure that
the tannins and colour from the grape skins are best extracted to
help improve the quality of the wine. We tasted the sweet
tasting must directly from the vat, to better understand
firsthand about fermentation.

After a quick tour of the cellar to see the barrels that are
currently holding the 2009 vintage, and some cleaning of the
tools used during the day, the time had come to say our
farewells. A huge thank you to all the clients, and to the
staff at Château Beau Rivage for having brought such energy and
good cheer to this harvest experience day.